Getting Our Mustang’s Rear End in Line

With any solid axle car, properly locating the rear axle is of utmost importance when it comes to performance. It’s especially important in a high-horsepower car like a Mustang because those rear tires have to transmit a lot of power to the ground and provide lateral grip. And with a solid axle, there’s no independent articulation to work with, so proper control is paramount.

We recently added a Watt’s link from CorteX Racing for lateral rear axle control. Sock S197 Mustangs come with a Panhard rod, which is a single rod that attaches to the axle and runs parallel with it to a chassis attachment. This prevents the axle from moving laterally. One of the downsides of a Panhard rod, however is that the single point of attachment means that the axle still describes an arc as it moves up and down. A Watt’s link solves this by hinging the rod in the middle, allowing the axle to describe a straighter path as is moves up and down. You can also change the pivot point of the link to change the roll center of the rear end of the car, which is beneficial when tuning for power delivery.

We coupled the CorteX Watt’s link with their torque arm, which provides rotational stability, and transfers the loads from braking and acceleration to a point closer to the center of the car’s mass.

Comments

[spellnazi] Your usage of the word "reigns" on the main page blub for this story is incorrect. The proper spelling in this case is "reins." "Reigns" refers to your continued dominance as America's Best Automotive Magazine, not the apparatus by which one controls an animal. [/spellnazi]

Jerry From LA wrote:
[spellnazi] Your usage of the word "reigns" on the main page blub for this story is incorrect. The proper spelling in this case is "reins." "Reigns" refers to your continued dominance as America's Best Automotive Magazine, not the apparatus by which one controls an animal. [/spellnazi]

Jerry From LA wrote:
[spellnazi] Your usage of the word "reigns" on the main page blub for this story is incorrect. The proper spelling in this case is "reins." "Reigns" refers to your continued dominance as America's Best Automotive Magazine, not the apparatus by which one controls an animal. [/spellnazi]